Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1887-04-30

clouds, copper and brass, and clouds that ar
black with thunderbolts and threaded will
seams Of lightning, but all are always on ;
scale of magnifcence that is simply match
less.
It seems strange to me to stand here in my
hotel at the Dalles-meaning a shute Oh
narrow fume in this great Columbia river
that is fed from Canada-and see men dig
glng for gold. spent portion of the yeaI
1852 on this spot, and it was then thought
that the nearest gold fields were in California.
But few years ago-alaS, what am | sayings
1t is fully quarter of a century ago-they
found gold far up this rushing river, and SO
have followed it down until Cinnamon are
digging in the sands of the Columbia for gold
from its source almost to the sea-
But | never think of those early gold fields
far TO the north Of here, and night in which
the great crowd of returning miners rushed
from the hotel to the steamer, without sick
ening shudder. Let me tell you what hap.
pened. have never told it before This may
help me to forget it. We had been called
early at the hotel to take the down river
steamer. Many of us had loads Of gold dust.
For my own part, l had quite as much as I
could stagger under, only portion of which
in San Francisco with it. To miss this river
boat was to miss the weekly ocean steamer.
And so we rushed along pell nell in the mist
and darkness, the lights on the steamer only
binding us and making it more uncertain
under foot
Suddenly heard slip, a cry; and then far
down under me in the darkness there was a
thud and a crash of waters. l fell on nv
Il F,14 Il.
on the edge of high bridge that spanned a
portion Of the foaming river far below.
CROPPED back and around on my hands and
knees and got to the gang plank barely in
time to get aboard. But if that miner at nv
side with his load of gold had not fallen /
should. | asked every one knew on the
. boat if any one was missing; but the man, l
reckon, was a stranger to ALL wrote back
TO the hotel twice, but never had any an
swer. And so 1 tried to persuade, and have
been trying all the time to persuade myself,
that may be it was only one of the numerous
Indian fishermen exploiting his suppleness
while on his WY to his nets and spears be-
low.
Gen. Grant was stationed here in the early
days. l knew him fairly well here about
thirty years ago. He was more than ordi-
narily quiet for young lieutenant l do not
now recall precisely anything that he ever
said to me, but remember that his face had
serious and even half sad expression all the
time ~
A little way down the river from here, as
we came up yesterday, some parties pointed
out TO curious travellers the old block house
where Sheridan is reported to have had his
first fight. 1t was brush with hostile In
dams, and evidently successful. For the same
parties pointed little further up the hill to
an ugly tree, with many angles and few
leaves, remarlling as he did so: "An' there's
where he hung fourteen of EN-"
do not recall at this moment that I ever
had any transactions with Phil Sheridan. but
can here record that he was always a great
favorite with the best people of the country
in the old troublous times Both he and Gen.
Grant are claimed-and with good show of
right, too-as Oregonians by the old pioneers.
And only this morning one of these honest old
men, who was with us when we were all shut
up in this little town together, took off his hat
slowly and gravely when he began to talk to
me of Gen. Grant and the old, old days
1t is hard not to stop and talk to you, my
reader, of this grand past-the days when
giants were in the land. For one l went out
TO battle up in yonder mountains. Many of
us marched out, and not so many came back.
And then was the judge of all this northern
country once, region that is broader than
many of our eastern states. Yes, the boys
mostly old miners whom had known in Cal
ifonia-elected me to be their judge before
had beard or was yet of age. And some
one has said of me that with one law book
and two six shooters l sat on the bench and
administered justice for four years. All, the
temptations to turn aside and recount some
of our strange and pathetic experiences in
those early days!
The cheapest place to live in the world is
here. Stick pin right here and remember that
you can live cheaper in Oregon than in Italy
or in any other cheap place on earth. l
might say almost the same of some parts of
California. But the truth is, all through Ore
gon | have found things so amazingly cheap
that l am in duty bound to call especial atten-
ton to it.
And why are things so cheap here9 Well,
look out over that river have seen, and you
can see for half the year through those wide,
deep waters all churned up with plunging and
leaping fish as big as a baby. Out yonder the
fruit ripens and falls and rots on the ground.
1t is the best fruit in the world A worm in
an apple or pear was never heard of in Ore
gon. This fruit is so plentiful and cheap that
it does not pay to gather it. This fruit, and all
sorts of fruit, grows almost entirely without
care. You plant the trees, and that is about |
all. As for bread, this wheat you see grow |
ing is grown for Liverpool Surely the bread |
should naturally be cheaper here than over |
the sea. And SO l might go on and explain
about beef, butter, all things indeed. But |
enough has been set down to explain why this |
is and must remain the very cheapest place to |
live Ill on the face of the earth,
Lands? Cheap; cheap and rich. People
say they don't want land where they can't
sell the fruit and things that grow so bounti-
fully that the market is glutted. They all
want to raise cattle. They want to be able
10 drive TO market. And this explains why
and at present is cheap here. But land will
not long remain cheap here or elsewhere on
his coast if this one practical fact gets well
liked in mems minds, to wit: The cheapest
place to live in the world!
The water in Oregon-all parts of Oregon
S fourfold better and more abundant than
n California This of course makes general
lealth better The climate is not so kindly
IS that of California by many degrees. For
Instance. l have seen snow at this spot and
Ii through this vast eastern Oregon-big
nough for two states-very deep, and very
rying on the cattle. For you must bear in
1ind that no man attempts TO shed or feed
is cattle here the whole year through. They {